Payday for the G.O.A.T?

Tom Brady celebrating his most recent Super Bowl title during the Patriots championship parade in February (Credit: Michael Dwyer/AP)

Tom Brady will be entering the final year of a 2-year, $41 million contract he signed with the team in 2016. He’s currently set to earn $15 million, vastly underpaid for a player of his caliber, something we have come to expect throughout his career, as he has sacrificed money time and time again for the betterment of the team. It’s a formula that had helped New England assemble championship rosters, especially this most recent run of titles.

However, Brady has never walked into a contract year, and even though it will be his age-42 season, the Patriots are not changing course in making sure the greatest QB of all-time is under team security. The week prior to the Super Bowl, owner Robert Kraft said the team would have no reservations in extending Brady, and we should expect nothing less.

To add some fuel to the fire, we’re hearing some figures about a possible Brady contract extension.

As first reported by @SteveB7SFG Tom Brady and #Patriots are close to new deal. Multiple sources tell me Terms 3 years plus option 100 Million total. 50 Million guaranteed …Tom will be with #Pats for the rest of his playing career. & beyond pic.twitter.com/X2Ng3VJgvj

Parlaying a report from Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com, blogger extraordinaire “Murph” tweeted the framework of a potential deal, which looks like 3 years, $100 million ($50 million guaranteed), an an option for a 4th year; this would allow New England to keep Brady under wraps through his elusive age-45 season.

Murph is someone who has his ear to the ground, as he recently hosted a podcast with Patriots beat reporter Phil Perry (Balestrieri also hosted), so I am giving these early reports some legitimacy. It would be a well-earned payday for Brady, and it has some interesting caveats.

Miguel Benzen (@patscap) says that from looking at the money of this new deal, it would create new money that’s worth $28.3 million for 2019, which is more than former Patriot Jimmy Garoppolo. If you’re wondering how he got $28.3 million, all he did was subtract $15 million (the current salary number for Brady in 2019) from the supposed $100 million total of this contract, giving him $85 million for the next 3 years; $85 million divided by 3 years gets you $28.3 million per season of NEW money.

Do not know anyone can make that conclusion without having the details of the deal. All I can say that it is possible to save close to $5M and have a $28.3M APY. https://t.co/lPgYbSlHSP

As you can see by Miguel’s Twitter name, it is the current amount of cap space for the Patriots. When you see a possible extension worth this much, obviously the thing that jumps out is how much cap space it could take up. My mind certainly jumped to it taking up a lot. However, Miguel says that if structured a certain way, this reported proposal could actually SAVE New England up to $5 million in salary, which, if completed before free agency begins next Wednesday, could put the Patriots at $29 million in cap space; every dollar helps, especially when the likes of Trey Flowers, Trent Brown, and Stephen Gostkowski are free agents.

Something interesting that came to mind for me: after LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers won a championship in 2016, LeBron James signed a 3 year, $100 million contract (with a player opt-out for 2018). For someone like me who enjoys history, I thought this was an interest parallel.

In all seriousness, Brady deserves every dime, and then some, for his career as a Patriot. Scott Davis and Cork Gaines of Business Insider calculated that between 2000 and 2018, Brady left at least $60 million in earnings on the table by taking “team-friendly” contracts throughout his career. They note that this is a conservative estimate, and if he were truly seeking top dollar at each possible turn, the figure could be closer to $100 million. If we wants to get paid, PAY THE MAN. No ifs, ands, or buts, he has EARNED it.

Still, the best part to me (as Benzen notes) is that even with all that new money, he could still be saving the team money, and if there is a scenario where he can get a pay raise, and help the team, I know Brady would be all for it, because this team is ready to go win their 7th Super Bowl next season.